Overview
- Judges questioned Frédéric Péchier on Tuesday about three serious intraoperative cardiac arrests in 2009 at the Polyclinique de Franche-Comté, where the patients survived.
- Across five weeks of hearings, he has conceded that poisoning occurred in three of the first four cases examined while continuing to deny he authored any contamination.
- Prosecutors highlight that he was the only caregiver working at both implicated Besançon clinics when 30 suspicious cases occurred between 2008 and 2017, including 12 deaths.
- The defense argues no direct proof has emerged and seeks acquittal, as Péchier remains free under judicial supervision but faces a potential life sentence if convicted.
- Investigators report that suspicious cardiac arrests ceased after his March 2017 arrest, while civil parties’ lawyers describe a defendant under strain and abrasive in court.